


Star Wars Rebels Compendium.

by Afterxglow



Category: Star Wars Rebels
Genre: AHSOKA AND MAUL BEING RIVALS DEAL WITH IT, Fan Characters, SOME ahsoka and maul share a force bond au i need to get my ass on writing, are these enough tags yet?, i need to write new ones, some old oneshots, these people yelling at each other all the times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:53:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27375259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Afterxglow/pseuds/Afterxglow
Summary: Just a place for me to dump all my random Star Wars Rebels oneshots and drabbles. There will be Alternate universes, Universe alterations, and everything in-between...I do apologize for my inconsistent and horrible writing style lol.  I have another set of oneshots and drabbles like this that are Maulsoka smut, so no smut here.  This is the clean stuff.  XD
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a place for me to dump all my random Star Wars Rebels oneshots and drabbles. There will be Alternate universes, Universe alterations, and everything in-between...I do apologize for my inconsistent and horrible writing style lol. I have another set of oneshots and drabbles like this that are Maulsoka smut, so no smut here. This is the clean stuff. XD

It was a few years after they’d parted ways when everything started to remind her of him. She could hear his voice sliding pitch in his desperation; see the glimmer of hope, the relief she had singlehandedly destroyed. The togruta always told herself that she had been right not to trust him. Even if they’d worked together toward a singular goal, he would’ve just replaced Sidious after he and Anakin were dead. She hadn’t been foolish enough to believe he wouldn’t turn on her, the second he made it clear Obi-Wan was next.

But no matter how many times she tried to drill that in her mind, he always came back. His gaze always felt burning, and the dream hesitated the same amount each time before he opened his mouth to tell her _she was wrong_. That she was a _coward_. That together they could have _destroyed Sidious_ , but she had chosen to _run away_ instead.

She would throw back the same words she had that fateful night, and everything else she could to defend herself. Even the truths were now starting to feel empty, with every day that passed where she was reminded of the death of the Republic and birth of the Empire; _Of all the suffering_. 

Oppression was scattered all throughout the galaxy.

Maul was cruel in showing her what he could; always responding to anything she said with a mixture of spite and longing. It was getting harder to keep fighting this vision of him the more everything he told her came true, plaguing her with what-ifs that could never come to pass now.

All because of her choice.

Ahsoka knew it wasn’t actually the dathomirian projecting this upon her, that it was her own mind tormenting her with the guilt and anguish she felt, but she still had to tell herself this as well every time. She didn’t like the idea there was even the slightest possibility it could be him. She’d already been frightened once, when Senator Organa had mentioned a Sith wielding a double-bladed, _red_ lightsaber had been a little too eager to meet her.

It had turned out to be a false alarm, a new breed of Sith-Inquisitors, the togruta believed they were called. But the moment of fright had been very real, and it had taken her more time than she wanted to admit to calm herself. Just the idea of him seeking her out had rattled her, had started making dreams involving him more frequent. She probably wasn’t even on his radar anymore. 

Force, he probably thought she’d died along with all her clones!

Ahsoka sighed heavily, calling out to the Force to help settle her nerves. The Senator needed her to be at her best tomorrow, she would be meeting new members of the resistance and finding places for them to begin their work. She couldn’t be jittery and unrested. It was unbecoming of the head of his intelligence network.

The energy comforted her, settling her enough that her fatigue returned. The togruta could only hope for dreamless sleep this time.

There was darkness as she began to drift off, almost permitting her that much, but then… _voices_ , the sound of a ship humming as it navigated through space. Her brows knitted together. She was more aware of this one; it was more lucid than the others had been. It was almost like waking up as more details began pouring in-her eyes opened, but not to see her bunk room on Bail Organa’s flagship.  
No, she was in a much smaller ship, darkened and fit for only two, maybe three passengers at most. There was a flash of blue she caught out of the corner of her eyes, then the voices stopped. The ship grew darker, save for the lit navigation panels laid in front of the pilot. Ahsoka squinted, only just able to make out the shape of the person sitting in the chair. The only details she could make out was their arm propped against the side of the seat, the side of their head resting against it. The heavy exhale that came from them spoke of exhaustion or exasperation. Perhaps both.

There was something almost familiar about them, that compelled her to move forward. This dream was so unlike the others, that so long as she had any sense whatsoever, she wouldn’t try to pull herself just yet. She was actually curious where this one would lead. 

The pilot’s head jerked up and their arm quickly moved aside, clearly hearing something. _It couldn’t have been her, could it_? Was she seeing a vision? Someone that needed help? She had asked the Force to grant her such clarity, if there was anyone in dire need close enough for her to do something for.

Her heart sank when the seat turned and it was _him._ On impulse, her eyes drifted to the panel that would indicate where he was, but she couldn’t quite read it. It was hard to make out in the dark, and his body was blocking part of it. The ex-Jedi held her breath, reminding herself that this was only a dream. A strange new one, but a dream nonetheless. They _always_ stared at each other, even if his eyes were a little wider this time, and his body language more tense.

She took a step back as he rose carefully from the seat and approached her, completely silent. Ahsoka just watched on, desperately trying to will the dream to end. Maul’s eyes narrowed and he lunged for her, snatching one of her wrists. It felt so real.

He seemed equally as surprised, as his gaze snapped to said wrist before meeting hers again.

_"You live?”_

The togruta gasped, and woke up in a sweat. Her heart was racing, and when she went to try and calm herself down, her mind registered a disquieting fact.

_The wrist he’d grabbed was cold._


	2. Grasping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yeah the years are all muddled and mixed up. I'll have to fix that later, I'm way too lazy to do that now. XD These are all already done unless I indicate otherwise, so I'll have to come back to them. This takes place after the first one. I'll also apologize in advance that most of the chapters will have an author's note.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I NEED TO DO EDITS AND ITALICS, I'll deal with that eventually. Just getting stuff up here for now.

Over the past six years Maul had tried to contact her, through the means in which their energies had rediscovered one another. It had never been every night, sometimes the Sith waited months to try and get her attention. Sometimes she’d been the one reaching out-unintentionally at first, but she’d grown more curious as time had stretched on. It was a way to keep an eye on him and his actions, and Ahsoka knew he was doing the same to her in turn. He’d been just as busy as she’d been for a while, before he’d simply faded away into the shadows.

She’d thought nothing of it at first, considering it just another period of complete silence between the two of them.

She hadn’t even bothered trying to determine whether he was planning some grandiose scheme or not. The rebellion required her complete attention, consumed almost all of her time. When nearly three years had gone by, Ahsoka assumed that had been the end of it. Either Maul had died or the odd connection that existed between them had been severed.

At least, she had thought as much until one of his strongest warnings, something straight out of the nightmares that had never stopped, appeared. _Sidious’s new pet_.

The togruta had heard of the Sith Lord Vader before, been aware of his presence for a long time. Hera and her crew had told her horror stories about their encounter with him, which had only made her wish she could’ve actually been there for them, to help distract and fight him for as long as they’d needed. But it had been too high a risk for her to join them. The Senator himself had told her that, and deep down, she knew things would’ve been worse if she had gone. 

_She didn’t know how she would’ve reacted to his presence._

Ahsoka sighed, hiding in Rex’s bunk room. The others would’ve gone to hers straight away to check up on her. The decommissioned clone was her closest friend and knew her better than anyone else could. He was worried about what had happened, what had riled her up so much she had passed out in the middle of a dangerous starship battle, but he also knew she needed time alone with her thoughts, and she would talk about it when she was ready. _If_ she was ever ready to deliver the news. 

She rested her chin on top of steepled fingers, trying to figure out where to even begin. It was so hard to accept-she’d lied to Ezra right to his face, _but it was so hard to-_

Her eyes squeezed shut. Today had been the first time in years she had felt Maul’s presence at all. It wasn’t as strong as it had been in the past-no, it was much more muted. Like he was frail and falling apart, or simply too far away to keep a hold on. Maybe it was her distress that had called his mind to hers, though Ahsoka couldn’t come up with an explanation as to how that was possible. But, she’d been surprised before...as well as very, very wrong.

_”He is the key”_

_To bring balance to the Force?_

_To destroy.”_

Those words echoed in her mind, just as fresh as the day she’d heard them. The reality behind Maul’s accusations _burned_. She could only imagine that, wherever he was, the zabrak was quite pleased with himself...though he might’ve been just as upset, as well. It was hard to say...over the six years he hadn’t spoken about Anakin as much as she thought he would’ve. Maybe he’d wanted her to find out the hard way; to bask in the pleasure of just how horrible a choice she’d made.

Or maybe he’d just been too busy and focused his efforts elsewhere, knowing that sooner or later this confrontation was inevitable. That was just as likely as anything else at this point.

“I can sense you...what do you want?”

Force she hoped nobody was outside the door or in the hallway, able to hear her. Ahsoka didn’t know how loud things would be if they connected. Normally things remained silent, relayed from one mind to another in powerful visions. This was a different case, however, and she was still reeling from what she’d felt when she and Kanan had searched Vader’s energy.

There was silence for a while, but she could still feel him; a faint pulsing, like a weakened heart. She wasn’t sure he would even be able to respond, if he’d heard her or not.

_“Do you see, now?”_

There he was. She focused on what of his energy she could, feeling her mind swarm as he reached back out. She sensed desperation, anger, the dying embers of hope. Black and red surrounded her on every side when she opened her eyes, caught within somewhere dark and cold. It felt-ancient? Dangerous. She didn’t like being here, but it suited Maul.

“Maul?”

_There was shuffling and tapping in the distance. If she tilted her head just right, the sound waves brushed her hollow horns and let her know someone was coming from her right. Why linger in the darkness if he had something to say? She didn’t think doing so would grant him any more power. They weren’t anywhere near each other physically, after all._

_“Do you see, Lady Tano?” The zabrak repeated his question, offering her an ugly sneer when he finally came into view. “How much longer will you hold onto denial?”_

_She was taken aback by those words. She’d expected to hear something like this from Maul, but even so she wasn’t prepared to hear them just yet. Especially not when it was just the two of them, connected to each other’s minds. He could feed off her guilt and despair-he must already be doing that, to maintain any vision at all. Things flickered in and out of her sight. But never his eyes, blazing with both triumph and rage._

_The ex-Jedi responded with a sigh, unsure where to begin. Maul was right, after all. Anakin had done what she’d thought was impossible and fallen to the dark side; somehow became worse than him, in the process. It was a hard pill to swallow given their years of friendship, the brother he’d become. Ahsoka hated to think that she had any part in his downfall, but she could never think of assurances that none of this was her fault for very long. It was a complicated matter. For her, at least. It had been simple for Maul. In his mind, she’d just been too cowardly to accept the truth._

_Why he hadn’t tried to enlist anyone else’s help following his escape though, she wasn’t sure why. Were they really the only two people in the universe he thought could bring the both of them down?_

_“Go ahead and gloat all you want,” Ahsoka finally snipped, “the damage has already been done.”_

_Neither of them could turn back time and fix this mess. She desperately wished it was possible, but it wasn’t. Even the Force had limitations._

_He snorted, but that was about all the gloating he showed openly._

_“There is still a way to rectify our mistakes.”_

_She arched a white brow, finding that impossible._

_“I have discovered a way to target and destroy them both successfully.”_

_“How can you be so sure?”_

_“It worked quite well in the past”_

_Ahsoka blinked, confused. She chewed on that thought for a moment, before it occurred to her again that this place felt strange, yet not completely unlike anywhere she’d been before. This place was..ancient, yes, it was true. There was something here, then? Where was here? What was Maul trying to show her?_

_“...why didn’t you say anything sooner?”_

_He laughed in a strange, strained way, scraping his gloved hands over what appeared to be a walking stick. She couldn’t be so sure, as every moment this drug on things started to become darker._

_“I...could not reach you. Your despair and fear were enough to reignite the connection.”_

_Had he been trying to when he’d gone dark?_

_“Where is this discovery?”_

_“With me, with me..for years and years now.”_

_Another, unsettling, muffled laugh followed his words. That explained why he’d vanished, she supposed._

_She narrowed her eyes in determination. If he’d found a way, then despite her reservations when it came to him, she would do whatever it took to prevent the state of the galaxy from getting worse._

_“WHERE are you, Maul?!”_

_He opened his mouth to speak, but the vision began fading in and out of existence; everything around them was turning black._

_“Maul!”_

That was all she got before his energy disappeared again, flung back to wherever he was. Her eyes opened, and she stared at the ground in bitter disappointment when she couldn’t find him again. She would, somehow. It was for the best they’d ended there anyway, as there soon came a series of knocks on the durasteel door.

“I’m sorry 'soka, I can’t keep ‘im out any longer.”

She sighed. Back to work it was.


	3. Bittersweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: This wasn't written for the 100 themes, so the word probably doesn't apply. XD But I needed a placeholder title, so there you go! Also in Maul and Ahsoka share a force bond AU! Other AUs are coming up, I promise you that. Quick note about this, I'd love to do a story in which these two not only share a force bond, but are forced to work together deciding well if we kill Vader....
> 
> There are some parts in here I'm not sold on, so I may wind up editing and chopping this apart later. 
> 
> Rex is there because there's a plot point I'm toying with. Which yes, is part of the random 'soooo i want maul and ahsoka to team up following malachor but people don't know she's not dead JUST yet. Rex just muscled his way in because he was worried.

  
The temple was collapsing. 

The ancient stone walls surrounding them groaned under the pressure of the obelisk’s sheer power, unable to remain in place without Malachor’s precious conduit. The ancient Sith temples weren’t much different from the Jedi ones, in that respect. Both connected strongly to one side of the force; both contained a source of great power that allowed them to function for as long as the pulse remained steady. Once severed..all was lost. They were purposefully constructed that way. 

Ahsoka bared her teeth as she held both sabers over her head, struggling to keep her adversary locked in place while conveying the severity of the situation to the teenager calling out her name and holding one hand out. Ezra was too far away to be of any help, and the ex-Jedi was grateful for that as he wouldn’t have been able to do anything anyway. Except get himself killed. 

“Ahsoka!!”

She could feel her arms starting to wear out, this position was meant only for temporarily blocking, not holding for any length of time.

“ _Ezra._ ”

He wouldn’t leave her behind, not without a choice that [i]forced[/i] him to. Ahsoka bit her lip, glancing over toward Rex, who’d Anakin knocked out cold. He would’ve killed him too, if she hadn’t stepped in. 

“Get Rex to safety. _Please_.”

Kanan too of course, but the other Jedi knew what had to be done and how to handle himself, even given the circumstances, and he was conscious whereas Rex was not. The sheer panic that this would be the last time they ever saw each other if he listened to her showed in the teenager’s eyes, and there was nothing Ahsoka could do to settle those nerves. It probably would be. Ahsoka wished it didn’t have to be this way, but there was nothing that could be done about it now. 

“I... _I will_.”

The togruta finally turned to engage the vile mess of man and machine that had once been her Master, lashing out at him with all her might. It wasn’t with the same amount of force she’d started with, but that wasn’t for lack of trying. Anakin-no, the _monster_ he’d become- had worn her down blow by blow the more intense their fight had become and the longer it had drug on. But she wouldn’t waste her chance this time. She would shut off her empathy, all her emotions, _everything_ connected to Anakin..save for her steadily-growing rage. 

This was _not_ her Anakin. This Sith had killed him and simply wore his skin. Sidious had destroyed her old Master beyond recognition. The Anakin she knew wouldn’t have wanted _this_. Death was a much kinder fate; striking him down was all she could do to both avenge and release him from the Sith Emperor’s control. Those words he had spoken…

_“Then you will die”_

With little hesitation, no remorse. He was trying to make good on that statement, as each new strike grew sloppier, but stronger. If she didn’t find a way to take him off guard and make a lethal strike soon, her energy would be spent and he would have her. Vader seemed to understand that, likely because she’d taken him by surprise and nearly scraped her blades across his exposed face in order to save her friends. 

She should have plunged one of those blades into the cracked helmet. She could have ended this right then and there.

_“I still have a chance. I just need the right moment.”_

She grunted as she barely dodged then deflected another blow, swiping out and clashing blades, over and over again. Her ears were ringing from the sound-the crackling energy snapping all around them was nothing compared to the violent thundering of their lightsabers clashing. She almost didn’t notice it anymore. 

Through the crack in his helmet she could see the Sith’s eye burn hotter, blazing with nothing but utter hatred. He wanted her to die, and was enraged she was still alive despite his onslaught. She was someone who should have perished decades ago. She could see it. _Sense it_. There was nothing else there. 

_Nothing._

Her emotional control faltered, and her heart sank even as she brandished her large saber in his direction again. Broken tears stung at the corners of her eyes, but she reminded herself that the _real_ Anakin had been dead for a long time, and they quickly turned hot, _bitter_. Sidious’s _creature_ had to be stopped, and given everything, Ahsoka felt she was the one best suited to destroy him; willing to die here, if it meant she could take him with her. 

Some power returned to her aching muscles, provided more stamina as such thoughts drifted through her mind. She only had so much left, but Ahsoka planned on making it count. 

A shriek of pure rage tore its way out of her throat as she lunged at him, swiping for his neck, his torso, _any_ area that could end this fight immediately when her hot, ivory blades sliced through them. 

She nearly caught his breathing apparatus, taking him by surprise with a feint. Her smaller blade carved a path up the front of his armor, toward the panel...but he swung down with his own weapon before she could make it, forcing her to jump back so that he didn’t cut her entire arm off. 

Ahsoka bared her fangs as she twirled her lightsabers around, starting to circle the Sith Lord. He followed her pacing with his eyes, but did not mirror her movements at all; confident he knew her _so well_ that his strike would come when she was at her weakest. The terrible thing about that was she couldn’t say those thoughts would be wrong. 

In their moment of pause, she took notice of just how far along the temple’s deterioration process had come. The floor beneath them was shuddering from so much energy being exhausted all at once, and she could see clear cracks starting to form-even light underneath them. The sides of the temple that had trapped them in had even started to crumble, leaving a large enough hole for both of them to escape through, should they so desire. She thought about it, for a moment.

_No, the fighting needs to stay here. With any luck, when the floor gives way..it’ll be the end of it._

Even if that meant the end of her as well. 

Vader seized his moment the second she allowed herself to become distracted, bearing down on her with such speed and force, Ahsoka froze; too shocked to properly react. It would’ve been the end of her if a powerful burst of energy hadn’t collided with him _seconds_ before the blow would’ve landed, and sent him into the wall on the opposite side. She just stared at him, startled, as he lay on the ground for a long moment before stirring. 

_This was the moment, her chance!_

At least, she thought so, until the energy turned its attention to her as well; catching her up in tight coils, [i]yanking[/i] on and practically choking her as she tried to break free from its grasp. It threw her aside the moment she stopped struggling and tried to find another way out as harshly as it could, flinging her outside the large crack and onto the more jagged, stone ground. 

It was hard enough to roll her down a half-broken set of stairs, before she came to a stop below them; winded, lightsabers thrown out of her hands, unable to pick herself back up. It was worse than when he’d pushed her down here himself, she barely managed to roll herself over and look back up just in time to see a blinding purple-white flash accompanied by the roar of the collapsing floor. 

Ahsoka moaned in pain as she laid there for what seemed like forever, riding it out, waiting for the worst of it to subside so she could at least try to stand up and gather her things. As well as her wits. Vader was strong, so there was no guarantee any of that had killed him, no matter how damaged his suit was. She could only hope it was enough to either destroy him, or force a retreat. 

The togruta shut her eyes tightly and forced herself to roll back over onto her stomach, slowly pushing herself back up. She had to make sure. She couldn’t even think about seeking out Kanan or Ezra’s presence until she knew _something._ With a groan, she picked herself up the rest of the way, a bit shakily. Almost every muscle in her body screamed out at once, and she felt that, in a moment, she would fall right back to the ground. If Anakin was still alive, still here and ready to fight, she wouldn’t be able to stand up against him even if she had her lightsabers on her. 

_Anakin…_

She turned sharply at the sound of heavy, metal footsteps coming from somewhere behind her, wincing at the jolt of pain the sudden action caused her. It certainly didn’t help matters when the being causing them finally stepped into view, holding onto both of her weapons. Her hands balled into fists and she grit her teeth, narrowing her eyes at the sight of their other enemy here. Ahsoka didn’t know what had happened once she’d gone to get Ezra, confident both Kanan and Rex would be able to handle him, but clearly what they’d done hadn’t been enough. He was still standing. 

“ _Maul._ ”

He dared to begin closing the distance between them, though she supposed that was because he not only held all the weapons, but seemed far less worn out than she did. Looking him over granted her the pleasure to see her friends had done some damage, though. From this distance, she could tell he was putting more weight onto his own weapon, needing it for a little bit of help, at least. Not as much as she wished, but at this point she’d take even the slightest ‘victory’. 

“Lady Tano,” he returned cautiously, with less venom, “my _apologies_ for being so rough.”

She took a step back, glowering at him as he gestured toward the top of the pyramid.

“Save it,” she snapped, “after what you tried to do to us-”

“Them, Tano," Maul interrupted, "I gave you a chance.”

Her eyes were angry slits now, and she thought about taking a step closer. If she wasn’t in such pain right now, so worn out, she would’ve attacked him for that. 

“You tried to _kill_ me and my friends,” she hissed angrily between clenched teeth, “ _and_ take Kanan’s padawan for your own! I don’t see a chance in any of that.”

Maul snorted, and shook his head at her. 

“Just as blind now as you were _then_ ,” he retorted, which earned him a growl, “and after I saved your life, too.”

“..What do you mean?”

“Do you _honestly_ think any of that had to do with the temple? _You lost focus_. Skywalker would have killed you and had enough time to escape, had I not intervened.”

Ahsoka searched Maul’s feelings, his intentions, and found nothing but truth in his words. It bothered her. If he’d been able to use that much power, Kanan and Rex had only dented his mechanical parts, at best. And not enough to stop him. The togruta wasn’t sure whether she should be grateful to be alive, or unhappy he had stepped in to save her life. 

“ _Why_?”

He didn’t respond, looking off to the side, thinking. Ahsoka stood a little taller, realizing that he was constructing what he felt was a suitable answer. He’d have responded right away if he wasn’t trying to find a way to twist the situation in his favor. 

“Maul!”

The zabrak clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in annoyance, but returned his full attention to her. 

“Because,” he began, leaning on his double-bladed lightsaber a little more, “we can only kill him and Sidious together.”

After all these years, he still thought that?

"What makes you think I’d consider teaming up with you _now_?!”

She’d actually managed to touch a nerve, the way he glared at her. Barely suppressing an ugly sneer. 

“ _I_ know Sidious and _you_ know Skywalker. No one else possesses the insight we have. If you want to stop Vader, _this_ is the _only_ way! This is the _last chance_ for _both_ of us, Lady Tano. _None_ of your friends would have been put in danger if you had simply gone through with your promise!!”

“I never _promised_ you anything!” Ahsoka shouted back, trying to keep herself from being pulled into the anguish, the grief. Admitting Maul had been right about _any_ of this was still difficult.

“ _You should have_!” Maul retorted, his face contorting with anger, “look at what your loyalty to Skywalker has led to! A decade and a half of hiding and denial, before you tried to kill him _yourself_. You _need_ me, Tano. You cannot do this without my help."

As much as she wanted to protest that, Ahsoka had to begrudgingly accept that the former Sith was right. She’d fought well against Vader, had a chance to kill him, but he’d worn her out quickly and nearly killed her-Maul was the only reason she was still alive...so she couldn’t say he was wrong. 

She hated that. 

“ _Fine_.”

Her fists clenched tighter. It felt like giving in, but what choice did she have? They only needed to work together long enough to deal with their old masters, and then they could part ways- or more likely, return to being _just_ enemies. This alliance was only temporary, and because there was no other option. What Anakin had become truly did need to die. 

“It will be easier to start with Vader,” Maul spoke up, “ _together_ we can make short work of him and deprive Sidious of a precious lifeline. He will be more difficult to approach.”

“I’ll need my lightsabers.”

His lips stretched in an unkind smirk.

“I’ll root for you _only_ once I know you’re committed.”

She had to bite her lip to prevent herself from lashing out at him for twisting and turning her own words against her. There would be time to punish him later, after all was said and done. Maul wasn’t going to have a sudden change of heart, he wasn’t doing this for the good of the galaxy. 

“Is he still here?”

Maul hummed thoughtfully, eyes drifting away from her again and toward the large pyramid, before his gaze settled on the roof of the temple.

“On Malachor, yes. But on the surface.”

_Why couldn’t she sense him?_

“...it is likely he called for reinforcements once I threw you aside. The Empire must still be close-your Inquisitor friends took no time at all to arrive. We must leave _now_.”

“ _How_?”

If he had a working ship here somewhere, the Empire and Vader were still a problem. They wouldn’t know a thing about Maul, but her old master would want to make sure she was dead. If he’d called for reinforcements, undoubtedly a star destroyer would be among them. A smaller ship wouldn’t be able to get out of here unnoticed and without being pulled into a tractor beam so easily. 

“The Inquisitors arrived here on their own, did they not?”

“Those ships have trackers on them.”

“But they look Imperial enough to slip by even with their tracker removed-enough for [i]one[/i] leap to hyperspace.”

“And where are we going?”

“Dathomir.”

Her eyes widened. Dathomir? It was a good place to hide she supposed, but her ability to contact the others…

Ahsoka shook her head. She’d deal with that later, find a way to contact them and let them know she was still alive.

Unless...letting them think she was dead until Vader was dealt with was a better option. But she didn’t want to do that to Rex or the others. _Especially_ Rex.

It was something to think about. She’d figure it out later-Maul very likely didn’t have a plan of action just yet, and neither of them were in top shape. Any assault would have to wait. 

He approached her and extended a hand, which she stared at warily. It brought up too many memories; too many strong emotions bubbling to the surface.

“I can get into the ship on my own.”

Maul huffed in exasperation and dropped his arm. 

“Very well, _Lady Tano_.”


	4. Stumble, fall, and get up again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part of the 100 themes. An extremely short drabble that isn't very good, but eh *shrug*

“You’ll have to do better than  _ that _ .”

She came at him, swiping both blades aggressively. Kanan backed up hurriedly, parrying her strikes the best he could while trying to be mindful of his footing. He’d almost lost it a moment ago, when she’d taken him off-guard with a vicious blow that had nearly flung his lightsaber out of his hands. The Jedi was an excellent blade-to-blade combatant, but he still struggled with adding the Force to the mix and  _ focusing _ on the balance between the two.

Ahsoka could sympathize. It had taken her time to get used to utilizing the synergy wielding two blades required, under just as much stress. He would get there, but he needed the same push she had. That,  _ and _ to believe in himself. Kanan’s amount of self-doubt unbalanced him, and contributed greatly to the problem. That was why practice duels like this were so important, they could help him see where his weaknesses were and how to spot and take advantage of hers.

The togruta drew back as he took a sweeping blow, a pretense that she was surprised, when in reality she was trying to lure him into taking a stance that would leave himself out positioned. If Kanan paid enough attention and tapped into the Force, he would easily be able to sense the deception and respond properly. If he didn’t, then it would be another example for him to reflect on, once the match was over.

“Yeah? How’s  _ this _ ?”

He didn’t. 

Ahsoka swiftly slid to the side as he lunged forward with the idea she was in a compromised state of mind, and brought her large lightsaber down toward his back. Kanan tried to recover, and managed to successfully defend himself from the attack, but his sloppy movements cost him-this time when he stumbled he  _ didn’t _ regain his footing.

“Gah!”

His lightsaber deactivated and went flying from his hands, rolling across the grass as he took the hard fall. When he rolled over, she made it a point to stand over him; jabbing the edge of one blade toward his head.

“Mm.. _ almost _ .”

Kanan stared at her for a moment, like he was honestly afraid she would keep attacking, before sighing. She retracted her blades and stepped back, offering a hand for him to take. Despite his wounded pride, the Jedi took it after retrieving his weapon.

“Just like last time.”

“ _ Better  _ this time,” Ahsoka tried to encourage him, “you had a little more confidence.”

He snorted, disappointed in himself. The togruta frowned, unwilling to let him stand there and continue to doubt his abilities.

“You  _ need _ confidence, Kanan. You’ve already made great strides getting your lightsaber skills above what they once were-if you can maintain that  _ and _ open yourself up the Force while fighting, you’ll have access to all the power you need.”

“I know,  _ I know _ ,” he replied, “I keep trying to tell myself that, but..it isn’t easy. Not after everything.”

Ahsoka shot him a sympathetic look.

“I understand. It  _ isn’t _ easy. But I  _ know _ you can do it, Kanan. And I know you can teach Ezra how to do it as well.”

“I appreciate that, Ahsoka.”

He smiled a little, which she returned.

“You would’ve had me if you’d used the Force, you know.”

The human’s brow quirked, and his smile turned into a smirk.

“Well, when you put it that way…”

“One more?” she asked.

Kanan ignited his lightsaber and held it in front of his face.

“ _ One more _ .”


	5. Distorted shadows under light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of these I'm just slapping 100 themes titles on because that's what they were for, or they were a jukebox game prompt and the 100 theme sounds better than the song it was prompted to. 
> 
> ANYWAY, YEAH. Here we go, something where Maul and Ahsoka aren't screaming at each other. Technically. My friend and I both decided that Maul is damaged enough he could still have fits like this every now and again, because of all his psychological damage. 
> 
> Leth belongs to my good friend, and they are a genderfluid zabrak who will be referred to by they/them pronouns, just in case anyone was wondering about that.

“ _ Maul _ .”

He couldn’t hear her. That much was evident in the way he thrashed; the way his eyes glossed over with something dark-something she wasn’t familiar with. At first she’d thought he’d simply been throwing a fit. Even now he had trouble regulating his emotions, though Ahsoka supposed given everything that had happened that had landed him on Malachor it shouldn’t have been all that surprising.

What started as convulsing turned into something infinitely more intimidating when he picked himself up, poised like some kind of animal ready to strike. His hands went to claw at both sides of his head, and he began mumbling some sort of mantra. Not in his native tongue, it was in basic, but she still couldn’t make it out. The words were sharp, low, he was hissing them and shaking his head furiously. It didn’t seem like it was going to stop any time soon.

“Leth?”

The togruta turned to look at his attendant, who stood by watching the display with distress. The way their body stiffened, and one hand subconsciously went to rub at what was no doubt a wound told her two things. This wasn’t the first time Maul had gone through whatever this was, and he’d probably hurt poor Leth in the past during one of these fits. She wondered what Leth did during these times-did they stand and wait for it to pass, or try to help, at the risk of their life?

Ahsoka wasn’t going to let the smaller zabrak do that. When Maul threw his head back and started cackling loudly like a lunatic, stopping sometimes to sob before he returned to laughter, she knew what she had to do. Well, it was more like she had an  _ idea _ , but that was better than nothing. She didn’t want any of them to have to ride this out. The former Darth was most certainly capable of being intimidating in his right mind, even to her, but this was  _ disturbing _ on a whole new level. It had been enough for her to keep a healthy distance as well, out of nervousness. She’d never seen Maul this way.

“ _ Leth _ ...I need you to get some supplies ready. Bacta, gauze..”

Maybe more, but she would ask only for the staples right now. They didn’t know how this would go down.

“L-Lady Tano-”

They interrupted her train of thought as she raised an arm and faced her palm toward him. She was quickly reminded of how Maul twisted Leth’s perception of what the Force meant, coming from someone like her.

“I won’t hurt him.  _ I promise _ .”

Her voice was as soft and placating as it could be at the moment, and it seemed to work. She imagined Leth still had reservations about her approach, but was willing to refrain from voicing more than that, for the good of their master.

She sent out a weak pulse of the Force, first trying to get his attention. It worked. Maul, who had reverted back to sobbing, stopped being as loud, instead staring straight at her for an unsettling moment of silence. His hands dropped from his face, which he’d been covering, and he hissed.

“ _ Jedi _ .”

He didn’t even know who she was. He couldn’t have, if he didn’t recall she hadn’t been one for a long time. He’d known on Mandalore that she’d left the Order-he’d even told her the reason why she had and  _ supported _ the decision.

Ahsoka held her breath, reaching out to his mind once more. A tiny bit stronger this time, though not by much. She knew it would only make him angrier, but he needed to focus on her-he needed to come to her so that she could perform the ritual she hoped would snap him back to reality. He had to ignore Leth, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if they got hurt.

He roared with anger and rushed at her, murder in his eyes. Ahsoka stood her ground, waiting until the very last moment to move out of the way. She wasted no time utilizing her agility to leap over and land behind him. When she wrapped an armored arm around his throat, she tuned Leth’s presence out. They would be alarmed by her actions when she’d said she wasn’t going to hurt Maul, because this seemed to indicate otherwise. His thrashing grew more intense as he tried to break free, but in his feral stupor couldn’t think rationally enough on how to deal with her.

Her arm pressed harder, and he let out a choke. He finally went to bite her, but she had been focusing on his intent. She swiftly moved her arm, leaving him snapping at the air, and pushed both hands against the sides of his face. The togruta shut her eyes and exuded as much peaceful energy as she could.

“I am one with the Force and the Force is with me,  _ I am one with the Force and the Force is with me _ ”

She repeated the mantra over and over again, gripping his head tighter every time he tried to jerk away, until his movements started to slow, and almost stop altogether.

“ _ I am one with the Force _ ..”

Her eyes opened as she felt the mania starting to crawl back into hiding; as she felt Maul’s rational thoughts starting to resurface.

Ahsoka gingerly let go of his head, and looked toward Leth.

“He’ll be tired for a little while, but that’s all I can do for him.”

Hopefully it had been enough. She laid him just as carefully on the ground, ensuring he was on his back rather than stomach.

"It’s for the best he comes to his senses around  _ you _ ,” she continued, “as you know, Maul isn’t a fan of Jedi mind tricks.”

Leth looked more than just a little surprised; practically frozen in place by watching all of what had just happened.

“You know how to tend to him better than I do, anyway.”

He needed to remain calm for the healing ritual to have its best effect. If he decided to fight with her out of embarrassment, and the outrage of her using this energy the  _ proper _ way, the mania could break through the barrier she’d created and slip right back out.

“Thank you, Leth,” Ahsoka preemptively spoke, dipping her head in gratitude. 


	6. Patience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More 100 themes oneshots, woot!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have entirely too many AUs for SWR. My favorite is the Force bond between Maul and Ahsoka, but this is my second favorite. It's an AU in which Obi-Wan actually wasn't tricking Anakin, and Ahsoka became a second padawan to him. Anakin still helped teach her, and they got into a lot of trouble and antics that exasperated poor Obi-Wan, but yes...in this secondary AU, Kenobi was her master. I'll call it Conduit, and I'll mention what AU the oneshots are in from now on. 
> 
> This is in the Conduit Au.
> 
> Needs editing but I'll come back to it later. Right now just shoving writing up.

“Why isn’t it working?!”

“ _ Patience _ , Ezra. It  _ will _ take more than a couple of hours to get used to this.”

The teenager adopting a meditative pose across from her sighed, bored out of his mind. Ahsoka understood his frustration. She’d been young once, and it had taken her a while to get used to the more powerful and lengthy side of meditation, which had exasperated her poor Master and amused Anakin.  Any type of lengthy meditation was difficult to sit through when not applied to everyday use, but a conduit’s routine required them to reach deeper than normal-to learn how to extend themselves across a great distance; how to reach their intended target without their stronger presence in the Force being severed or distracted in some way and sending it right back to them.

You needed to feel one with the force, to experience every positive thing it returned in note of your existence within it. The dark side had its own means of accomplishing the very same thing, but it tended to bring anger back with any information or connection. Fortunately, the light did not.

“Focus on your intent,” Ahsoka repeated patiently, as she had earlier, “and find the one you wish to connect with.”

Ezra groaned and rubbed the back of his head.

“Yeah, about that Ahsoka…”

“You connected with that child,” she reminded him, opening her eyes to offer him a warm smile, “the creatures of this world and others are just as important-my Master could connect with them. I cannot.”

Ahsoka chuckled while Ezra thought that one over.

“You’ve already experienced what I haven’t. Perhaps  _ that _ is a good place to start. We can work on people  next .”

She had a feeling he’d been trying to reach out further into Lothal to see how well he could do, then quickly turned toward Kanan once he’d started to put too much strain on his mind. It hadn’t worked, but that was only because he was asking too much of himself. Ezra had to start where he had already succeeded and get better there first. It would teach him better, he would come to recognize the best strategy to connect with the various wildlife on Lothal.  _ Then _ she would suggest he attempt the exercise with Kanan, until he built up enough of a bond with him that he’d be more prepared to stretch himself out to the farms and villages again.

He didn’t even need to connect with a person if he didn’t want to. Ahsoka could remember her own powerful meditations on Raada, where she had contended herself soaring out among the whistling grass and beauty the harvesting moon had once had. She’d been too afraid to connect to anyone other than her Master then, and while she was still apprehensive now, Ahsoka was a little more open to the idea. Ezra would be her first choice, if she did-he reminded her so much of herself at his age, and she felt as great a need to protect him as Kanan-who would be her second-did.

But for now, she would be a conduit only to one being in the galaxy-she didn’t want that bond to weaken. She was still desperate to find him, to communicate with him further. Ahsoka couldn’t afford to let anything get in the way.

“ _ Okay _ . I can do this.”

She wanted to give him more encouragement, but didn’t want to disrupt him at the same time. Instead she watched, taking in Ezra’s style of meditation. She pulled her energy back within herself so as not to give him any distraction, and looked around to ensure they were still alone. Kanan and the others were usually very gracious when it came to Jedi training, and Ezra’s Master was more than willing to allow her to share some of the responsibility of teaching. He was to give his pupil most of it of course, but there were things Kanan hadn’t learned at the temple or under his own Master that he’d asked her to help with.

Honestly, she was just happy to be given the chance to help. Kanan and Ezra were powerful, these things were not beyond their abilities-but the way Kanan held himself back from the Force, and she understood why, made it more difficult for him to explain it to himself, much less the teenager.

“I think-I think I’ve got something!”

“What is it, Ezra? What do you  _ feel _ ?”

“It’s-”

He turned his head slightly, scrunching his face in deep thought while extending his arm toward what remained of Lothal’s Jedi temple.

"It’s..”

Ahsoka felt a swell of pride. He was holding on to something, he was far more focused now than he had been before.

Ezra’s eyes shot open, seconds before a well-hidden, and fairly large lothcat leapt from the tall grass and onto him.

“ _ Woahwoahwoah _ ! Get off!”

Ahsoka held a few fingers against her mouth to prevent herself from laughing as the boy struggled with the feline for a few more seconds, successfully pushing it away once it started to try and groom his face.

“Not bad,” she complimented, to which Ezra offered her an unimpressed expression. She could understand his frustration with  _ that _ being his first victory, but no one just summoned something like the rumored Loth-wolves on their first try. Not even Anakin or Obi-Wan. It required patience, and a whole lot of practice. She had a lot more experience than he did when it came to connecting-at least with people- but that was merely through age and dedication. Being a conduit from birth didn’t mean she didn’t still have to practice.

She stroked the feline’s fur as it nuzzled up to her, smirking down at it, before looking up at Ezra who glared down at it like it had ruined his exercise on purpose. This was probably a good place to stop for today. It would be difficult to jump right back into the lengthy process, with his disappointment.

“How about a little combat training, before we join the others?”

When the cat scampered away and he realized he wouldn’t have to deal with the arduous conduit process again today, Ezra’s spirits lifted.

“As long as you don’t throw away my crystal again.”

They both smirked at one another, drawing their weapons.

“Don’t let yourself be taken so off-guard,” Ahsoka joked back. “One, or two?”

Ezra considered the question, trying to determine which was best. He’d only practiced with single saber combat, and while it would be in his best interest to learn to go up against a dual-wielder at some point, for now she was content to go with what her young friend wanted. She needed practice when it came to a single saber too; she’d relied too heavily on having both blades for a long time.

“One-but the smaller one.”

Ahsoka’s smirk grew wider. Oh, Ezra planned on making this _interesting_. She hadn’t fought with just the shoto for a while. The former Jedi decided she would also raise the stakes. All of this would only help them get better in the end.

“No Force- _just_ the blades. If you win, next practice  _ you _ can use the Force and I may not.”


End file.
